CenturyLink Closes Orchestrate.io

Update - 2016.11.14CenturyLink sent out an updated message today, saying that all customers will have until March 17th, 2017 to migrate off of Orchestrate. I’m glad to see they are offering an extended timeline, but this is really what they should have offered initially.

Database as a Service provider Orchestrate.io just announced it would be closing its service almost immediately. The email below was sent out at the close of business on November 11th, 2016. That leaves customers just about 30 days to not only get their data migrated but to find a new provider to run their databases.

Orchestrate End of Life Notice for Free and Paid Accounts

Effective December 15, 2016, the Orchestrate NoSQL Database product (“Orchestrate”) will be retired. On this date, existing free and paid accounts will be deactivated. The Orchestrate product will be fully supported until that date and you will continue to have access to any applicable Content in order to remove and/or backup any applicable Content prior to deactivation.After December 15, you will no longer have access to any Content or the Orchestrate NoSQL Database product.For assistance with this transition, you can contact CenturyLink Cloud support by opening a ticket via help@ctl.io. If you have any other questions, or would like additional information, please email help@ctl.io or reach out to your account manager.

Regards, CenturyLink Cloud

CenturyLink acquired Orchestrate.io in April of 2015. At the time they said there would be no changes to the Orchestrate platform, but it looks like that promise only lasted about 18 months. CenturyLink has recently been selling off assets to try and streamline its operations, so I suppose it’s no surprise they are making changes. However, this doesn’t make it any easier for those of us using the Orchestrate platform. Frankly, the 30 notice is a bit much. Surely this shutdown has been planned for awhile.

I’ve been using Orchestrate.io for a few months as the database for a backup tool I’ve been working on. Orchestrate had a very mature Python client. So now I have to move my data and change my code to use another provider. I will say that Orchestrate.io seems to make it easy for you to get your data out. Once you log in and select an Application, there’s an Export Data button in the upper right-hand corner. Click Export will cause your entire database to be exported. You’ll be emailed a link to download the zipped JSON file.

Finding a new provider may not be as easy as exporting the data. There’s a number of players in this area. But here’s the few that seem like they could be a good fit.

Airtable – Airtable is not exactly the same as Orchestrate.io, they lean more toward a spreadsheet. But they do have a sophisticated.

Heroku – Heroku offers Postgres as a Service. Not quite a NoSQL solution, but it could work for your needs. They offer a free tier similar to Orchestrate.

Cloudant – Owned by IBM, Cloudant offers something to Orchestrate with a NoSQL solution. They also offer a $50/month credit to get started, similar to how Azure works.

RestDB – I will most likely migrate my data over to RestDB. They have a rich API, a nice free tier, and full-featured web interface.

It is unfortunate the CenturyLink is pulling the plug on Orchestrate, but it’s good to know there are a number of strong competitors in the market today.

REVISED Date - Orchestrate End of Life Notice for Free and Paid Accounts

On November 11, CenturyLink announced that it will be retiring the Orchestrate NoSQL Database service. Responding to feedback, we’ve decided to provide our customers a 120 day transition period.

We want to help make this transition as smooth as possible. In the coming days, a best practices guide for migrating data will be sent to current Orchestrate users.

Effective March 17, 2017, the Orchestrate NoSQL Database service (“Orchestrate”) will be retired. On this date, existing free and paid accounts will be deactivated. Until then it will remain fully supported and customers will continue to have access to any applicable data in order to migrate and/or backup any applicable content prior to deactivation.

After March 17, customers will no longer have access to any data or content within the Orchestrate NoSQL Database service.For assistance with this transition, contact CenturyLink Cloud support by opening a ticket via help@ctl.io or reach out to your account manager.